First victory for Afd: internal services still cannot classify it as extremist
The Administrative Court of Cologne upholds the suspension requested by the party, pending the outcome of the main proceedings, against the decision issued last year
Key points
Alternative für Deutschland scores a first victory in court: for the time being, the domestic intelligence services cannot classify and treat it as an extreme right-wing movement. This was decided by the Administrative Court of Cologne.
Double track
In a decision that had given force to the debate on the banning of the ultranationalist party, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bfv) had labelled the party a threat to the German democratic order on 2 May 2025. Afd, which in the polls is neck and neck with the Cdu-Csu at 24-27% of the vote, had immediately challenged the classification. At the same time, it had demanded its suspension by emergency procedure.
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Suspension
On 26 February, administrative judges in Cologne ruled on this second appeal and ruled that the Bfv must await the outcome of the first, main proceedings, which will still take some time to conclude. Until then, the Bfv must also refrain from publicly referring to this classification. The intelligence agency, immediately after the Afd appeal, had in any case committed itself to this.
The Cologne court stated that it is sufficiently proven that there are tendencies within Afd that are contrary to the liberal democratic order, but 'not in such a way as to lead to an unconstitutional underlying tendency within the overall party framework', based on the evidence provided by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution at the time.
In particular, there would not be sufficient certainty that with the 'remigration policy', the party would adopt the concrete objective of the 'undifferentiated expulsion' of German residents with a migration background.
Brand connect
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